


Everchanging

by orionreece



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Autistic Beau Swan - Freeform, Autistic Character, Bella Swan Has a Twin, Consensual Daemon Touching, Daemon Prejudice, Daemon Touching, Daemons, Gay Beau Swan, M/M, Non Consensual Daemon Touching, Other, Same-Sex Daemons, trans beau swan, transgender character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:20:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29302584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orionreece/pseuds/orionreece
Summary: Beau Swan was always different. From the moment he entered the world, he was different. Never was he stagnant. He was everchanging. His daemon showing the world how different he was, as she had never settled. So he learned to hide it. But moving to Forks with is twin sister will change everything.
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Beau Swan, Jacob Black/Bella Swan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Everchanging

Our mother drove us to the airport with the windows rolled down, her terrier daemon, Azazel, sat in her lap, head sticking out the window with his tongue lolling out. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the hot air making sweat roll down my neck. I was wearing a random t-shirt over my binder, a flannel thrown over the top of it, although I was considering taking it off. I was going to have sweat patches for sure. My daemon Nesryn, was perched on my shoulder, her black feathers catching and throwing sunlight. My sister was wearing her favorite shirt — sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I think she was wearing it as a farewell gesture. Her carry-on item was a parka. Her lynx daemon Cassian was curled in her lap, watching the buildings pass by. As if trying to commit them to memory. 

In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its constant rain and beautiful forests that my mother escaped with me and my sister when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been spending a month every summer with my sister, then just me these past recent ones. That was the year Bella finally put her foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie and his German Shepherd daemon Harlow, vacationed with us in California for two weeks instead.

It was to Forks that I now traveled toward, something that filled me with great joy. I loved Forks. It was a beautiful place, with interesting people. There was so much open space, filled with beautiful trees and places to explore. Nesryn loved changing, testing out different forms in that environment. But Bella loved Phoenix. She loved the sun and the blistering heat. She loved the vigorous, sprawling city.

"Bella, Beau" my mom said to my sister and I — the last of a thousand times — before we got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."

My mom looks like Bella, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of anxiety radiate off of Bella. Where our pinkies touched, her consciousness bled into mine.  _ How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still… _

"I want to go," I said, mildly guilty. I'd always done stuff for everyone else but this time, I’m making a decision for me.

"Tell Charlie I said hi."

"We will." Bella answered this time.

"I'll see you guys soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want — I'll come right back as soon as you need me."

But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.

"Don't worry about us," Bella urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."

She hugged us tightly for a minute, and I allowed the uncomfortable physical contact, and then we got on the plane, and she was gone.

It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. The whole thing bothered me. Too many people and their daemons stuffed in such a small space, it was inevitable that I made eye contact and knew things people didn’t want me to know. 

Ever since I could remember, I always knew too much about people. They would touch me and I would get a glimpse into their lives. I would meet their eyes and I would know their fears, their worries, their secrets. And so I avoided eye contact. I avoided touch. I would cry as a baby, when my mom tried to hold me. I would know how much having us both had ruined her life, no matter how much she loved us, she also resented us. So she learned to wear gloves, so did I.

Dad had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that we were coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He'd already gotten us registered for high school and was going to help us get a car.

But it was sure to be awkward with him and Bella. None of us was what anyone would call verbose. I knew he was more than a little confused by our decision — like our mother before us, Bella hadn't made a secret of her distaste for Forks. And I would always stay by her side, even when I loved our Dad very much, and would prefer to be with him over Mom.

When we landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen — just unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun. Bella looked gloomy. Cassian’s ears dropped lower than normal.

Dad was waiting for us with the cruiser. This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of our funds, was that me and Bella both refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.

Dad gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane. Harlow, his German shepherd daemon’s tail was whipping back and forth in excitement. Her paws gently tapped the ground as she stood in place. He was careful about not touching Nesryn, who was perched on my shoulder. 

"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied Bella after pulling away from me. "You haven't changed much. How's Renée?"

"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." Bella wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face. 

“It’s good to see you too, Beau. Everything been good?” With that kind of cautious tone I knew he meant either my transition or Nesryn being able to change. 

“Everything’s been good, yeah. Not too many different things since I saw you last.” Charlie nodded, and landed a gentle clap on my back, gloved hands over clothed shoulder. 

We had only a few bags. Most of Bella’s Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. We had all pooled our resources to supplement our winter wardrobes, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.

"I found a good car for you kids, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in. Bella opted for the back seat, seeing as Cassian was larger than Nesryn at this moment. He curled up beside her, ears still dropping low.

"What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for you" as opposed to just "good car."

"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."

"Where did you find it?" Bella piped up, leaning forward to hear better.

"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast.

"No." Bella said at the same time as I spoke.

“Yeah, Rachel, Rebecca and Jake’s dad right?” Charlie nodded at me.

"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted for Bella.

That would explain why she didn't remember him. She rarely went fishing with us. She would throw the most dramatic temper tantrums until Charlie stopped asking her.

"He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when she didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap." This wasn’t news to me. He had been in a wheelchair for the past couple summers. Nesryn perked up, feathers ruffling gently as she listened in.

"What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping Bella wouldn't ask.

"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine — it's only a few years old, really."

"When did he buy it?" Bella pushed, causing me to roll my eyes. It’s a gift. It doesn’t matter. 

"He bought it in 1984, I think."

"Did he buy it new?"

"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties — or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.

"Ch — Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic…" Cassian rumbled quietly, shifting irritably beside Bella. 

"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore." Harlow piped up, her ears back, hoping not to cause any problems as she spoke. 

"How cheap is cheap?" Cassian questioned. After all, that was the part Bella couldn't compromise on.

"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at us with a hopeful expression.

"You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car." Bella didn’t do well with gifts.

"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. Bella inherited that from him. So I answered for her.

"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. We really appreciate it." I said, saving Bella from the thanks. 

"Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks.

We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for conversation. We stared out the windows in silence.

It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves. I was excited to go exploring with Nesryn once again. She’s always had a blast choosing different forms to fit in with her surroundings. 

Eventually we made it to Dad's. He still lived in the small, three-bedroom house that he'd bought with our mother in the early days of their marriage. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was our new — well, new to us— truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. I loved it. I could tell Bella did too by how her daemon perked up and stood up to look at it more. 

"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Bella blurted out, eyes wide in surprise. 

"I'm glad you like it," Dad said gruffly, embarrassed again.

It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the east bedroom that faced out over the back yard, trees all I could see. There was also a ledge outside my window, that from experience I knew was easy to get up on the roof. I had missed watching sunsets and sunrises in Forks, 

The room was familiar; it had belonged to me since I was born. The wooden floor, the light green walls, the peaked ceiling, the basic black curtains around the window. I had spent just a couple of months here a little bit ago. A phone jack had been added, so I could talk to my mom. Bella had the only computer. I preferred books by far, so much so that I was awful with getting around a computer.

There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Dad and Bella.

Dad left us alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare neutrally out the window at the sheeting rain and just let myself worry about the things that would happen at school.

Forks High School had a small total of only three hundred and fifty-seven — now fifty-nine —

students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. I was glad for the decrease in size. I would be the new boy from the big city, a curiosity, a freak. Especially if anyone found out that I was transgender or that my daemon never settled. Or that I could barely hold eye contact because I would see into people. And to top it all off, I was autistic. Bella would have a much easier time than I will.

Maybe, if I looked like a boy from Phoenix should, I could work this to my advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be tan, sporty, blond — a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps — all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun.

Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of red hair, despite the constant sunshine. The only thing I had to my advantage was my blue eyes that I inherited from Mom. I had always been slender, only recently have I been able to gain weight in muscle due to testosterone. 

When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel. I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through my tangled, damp hair. Nesryn was curled around my neck, resting on my shoulders in her favorite snake form.

Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?

I didn't relate well to people my age, even less so than Bella. At least she could function in social settings. She could pick and choose correct answers to questions and sound normal. I fumbled with my words, my mouth not quite connecting to my brain. Or I would say something that made others uncomfortable. Tomorrow would be just the beginning.

I didn't sleep well that night. Of all of my Forks trips, I had never once attended a school here. The constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof relaxed me slightly, enough so that I was finally able to fall asleep a couple hours before I had to wake up. Another reason was Nesryn changing to her wolf form, warming me and comforting me with the noise of her breathing and the feeling of her soft fur against my skin.

In the morning I laid in bed for a solid while, just staring at the ceiling. I could hear Bella getting ready in her room. I heard her open her dresser and shut it, stubbing her toe on the way to the bathroom, Cassian no doubt padding after her softly. When the shower started, I got up. I had showered before bed. 

Breakfast with Dad was a quiet event. He wished Bella good luck at school. She thanked him. He knew not to talk to me much in the mornings, that it took me a while to get going. He squeezed my shoulder once, silently, after breakfast. He left first with Harlow, off to the police station. After he left, Bella sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor, Cassian laying underneath her chair. I washed the dishes quietly and once the water shut off, Bella stood.

I didn't want to be too early to school, but Bella was my ride, I still didn’t have my license. We donned our jackets and headed out into the rain. On the way out the door, Nesryn changed from a wolf to her usual crow form, soaring up into the air for a moment before perching on my shoulder.

It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as Bella reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the door, and locked up. Bella hurried as fast as she could into the truck, hood pulled tight around her face. I took my time, slowly walking in the water soaked driveway, face tilted up as I let the water mist settle gently on my skin. By the time I made it into the truck, my hair was damp and curling. 

Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Dad had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint. I ran my hands over the soft seats. The engine started quickly but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. I winced at the grating sound, and Bella grimaced in sympathy. 

Bella found the school quickly. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with  maroon-colored bricks. It was small and cozy, much smaller than our old school in Phoenix. 

Bella parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but we probably should get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like idiots. I stepped out of the truck cab and walked side to side with Bella down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. She took a deep breath before opening the door.

Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than outside. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, and her canary daemon fluttered near her hair.

The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Isabella Swan, this is my brother, Beauregard," My sister said and we saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. We were obviously expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter and son of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last.

"Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter.

She went through our classes for us, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave us a slip to have each teacher sign, which we were to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at us and hoped, like Dad, that we would like it here in Forks. Bella smiled back, more of a grimace than anything. My lips twitched up a fraction.

We got back to the truck just as we saw other cars starting to pull in. We drove around the school, following the line of traffic. Most of the cars were older like ours, nothing flashy. At home we'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out.

Bella and I both looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag and slung the strap over my shoulder. No one was going to bite me. I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.

Bella and I walked close together, Cassian walking directly behind her. She kept her hood up as we walked, dodging people and daemons alike as the sidewalks were crowded with teenagers. 

Once we got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner. This was Bella’s first class. Her breathing picked up and her face paled, and I laughed. She always thought of the worst when nothing bad ever happened. We exchanged a look before we split up, mine amused and hers full of dread. She squared her shoulders and approached the door. I kept watch as she followed two unisex raincoats through the door. Then, I made my way to building four, for art.

The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I ignored them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde with a butterfly daemon, the other also pale, with light brown hair and some type of bird for a daemon. At least my skin wouldn't be a standout here.

I took the slip up to the teacher, a short, blonde woman whose desk had a nameplate identifying her as Ms. Franklin. She smiled at me when she saw my name. Then, to my horror, made me introduce myself to the class. 

“Uh, I’m B-Beau. Just moved back here from Phoenix, but I’ve visited Forks almost every summer so I’m not exactly new. Yeah. This is Nesryn.” I tacked on my daemon awkwardly at the end, knowing it was polite but also reluctant to draw attention to her. I looked to the teacher and she finally sent me to a desk near the middle of the class.

I felt eyes on me throughout the entire lesson. I kept my eyes down on the sketchbook I had been handed when I walked in. The teacher was teaching a lesson about the Baroque period. I dutifully took notes. When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a girl with curly red hair leaned over her desk to talk to me.

"You said your name was Beau?" Her question held no expectations, just genuine curiosity.

"Yep," I answered. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.

"Where's your next class?" she asked, standing up and slinging her book back up on her shoulder.

I had to check in my bag. "Um, English, with Mason, in building three."

There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.

"I'm headed there too. Wanna walk with me? I'm Nora, this is Eiran" she said, a small smile on her face. Her daemon was a pink and grey hummingbird who was hovering near her shoulder.

I smiled tentatively. "Sure. Thanks."

I waited while she collected her jacket before we headed out into the rain. 

"So, you visit Forks often?" she asked, remembering my introduction earlier.

"Yeah, almost every summer to spend a month or so with my Dad."

"So you aren’t quite as fresh as everyone thinks, huh?" She laughed.

"Nope, this is just the first time I’ve gone to school here."

"What did you do when you came here?" She asked, as we stepped over a considerable puddle.

"Usually, I spent time down on the rez, fishing with my dad and his friends. Or I’d go hiking," I told her.

"Oh nice, I love those beaches," 

"Me too."

We walked back around the cafeteria, back to where I had watched Bella walk into building three. Just in time, I saw her exit, beside her a black haired boy. She looked painfully awkward. I waved to her, and she waved back dejectedly, causing me to smile. Nora watched this in amusement.

The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. Another teacher made me introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat, just like the first time.

After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be polite. At least I never needed the map.

Nora had another class with me right before lunch. She walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. We mostly walked in silence. 

We sat at the end of a table with a couple of her friends, who she introduced to me. There were only four of them, plus Nora. Hunter was a smaller boy, who kept his chihuahua daemon, Aerith, cuddled in his lap. Austin was a jock, very bubbly, wearing a football jacket. His sparrow daemon, Cersei hopping on the table. Piper was a quiet girl with dyed blue hair, her scorpion daemon, Daegal, never staying in one place. The last one was Bridget, a blonde girl with a rottweiler daemon named Osran, sat quietly beside her. 

Fortunately, they didn’t comment on my lack of eye contact or my weirdness. It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with five curious strangers, that I first saw them.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, only two tables away from us. 

There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to look at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention.

They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big — muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. His daemon was a golden retriever, making him look less intimidating. Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond, his daemon, did nothing to dispel the dangerous feeling I got from him. She was a rattlesnake. The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students. His daemon was a mountain lion, her tail flicking lazily beside him.

The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. Her weasel like daemon was snow white and curled around her neck like a scarf. The short girl was pixielike, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction. Her daemon was also a sparrow. 

And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me, the albino. They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes — purplish, bruiselike shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular. But all this is not why I couldn't look away. I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful — maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy.

Their daemons were unsettling. They seemed different than any other daemon I’ve ever seen. I had no idea what made them so different. 

They were all looking away — away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray — unopened soda, unbitten apple — and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway, her sparrow fluttering after her. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible. My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.

"Those are the Cullen's." Bridget said, catching my gaze, as she was sitting right next to me.

As she followed my gaze suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest, perhaps. He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine. I didn’t have time to look away. His eyes bore into mine and I flinched, looking away. The flickers of thoughts and feelings was too much. It was the strongest I had ever felt from anyone. Looking up was a reflex. Someone had called his name. So he reacted without thinking. Odd. 

In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest. 

Bridget snorted, looking at the table like I did.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said quietly, aware of how close we were to them. Osran’s tail thumped on the ground, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.

Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here — small town names? 

"They are… very nice-looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.

"Yup." Bridget said, her lips popping on the p. "They're all together — Emmett and Rosalie, and

Jasper and Alice. And they live together." Her voice held none of the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought, surprised. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.

"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related…"

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins — the blondes — and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children."

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt, I think."

"That's really kind of nice — for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"Yeah," Bridget agreed. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids," she added, sympathy making her voice softer. Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.

"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska." Weird that I hadn’t run into them. Although I was always home or the rez. 

As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, once again getting the flashing of  _ too much too much curiosity frustration unusual mind, can’t decipher _ .

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I didn’t risk looking at him again.

"That's Edward. He’s the youngest, I think." She said, shrugging lightly. 

After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful —even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. Their daemons were just as graceful. The one named Edward didn't look at me again.

I saw Bella sitting across the cafeteria, conversing with a larger group of kids. She caught my attention with a wave and a smile. I waved back, fighting a frown as everyone at her table twisted in their seats to look at me. 

One of my new acquaintances, Austin, had Biology II with me the next hour. This group was one to leave lunch earlier than others, thankfully. We walked to class together in silence. As much as he talked during lunch, I knew this was him being nice, accommodating for my comfort. I liked him. His daemon, Cersai, expelled all the necessary energy by flying high above everybody's heads. 

When we entered the classroom, Austin went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. He already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.

As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face — it was hostile, furious.  _ Thirst far greater than I had ever known burned in his throat. Self control self control he has to keep control he can’t disappoint Carlisle like this. _ I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. I had no idea what to make of what I had just understood.

The girl sitting there giggled, her corgi daemon scrabbling back to avoid my shoe.

I'd noticed that his eyes were black — coal black.

Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions, his cat daemon was curled up on his desk. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me and the things I now knew.

I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my shirt collar. It smelled like detergent. It seemed an innocent enough odor. His mountain lion daemon was rigid, her hackles raised and claws out. I tried to pay attention to the teacher.

Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.

I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother.

The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behavior? It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Adam.

I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. “ _ Hate him. Why did he have to come into my life like this and ruin everything I’ve worked so hard for.” A flash of a dark alley and fear ran through his mind.  _ As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly ran through my mind. Nesryn had puffed up, bewildered and threatened. 

At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose — he was much taller than I'd thought — his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat, his daemon hot on his heels.

I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency both me and Bella had in common.

"Hey, you okay?" a male voice asked. 

I looked up to see Austin. Thank god someone else saw that.

"Yeah. I don’t know what his problem was," I said, with a pained smile. Nesryn’s feathers were still ruffled up, giving her the appearance of being bigger than she was. I could tell she wanted to change forms badly. But she controlled herself with little effort. 

"If he gives you any more problems, let me know." He said, his jaw clenched. His sparrow’s feathers were also ruffled, but it made her look cute, instead of threatening. It was sweet. My discomfort faded as I smiled at him, my eyes not quite meeting his but hovering near his cheekbones.

"Thank you. Really"

"Do you need any help finding your next class?"

"I'm headed to the gym, if you could help. I have to give the teacher my doctors note."

"That's my next class."

We walked to class together; he was a little more talkative — he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. I could tell he was trying to distract me from Edward’s behavior. It was nice. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. 

As we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I’m fine now. Was just confused and a little upset." I said.

"If you’re sure. The teachers over there.” He pointed out, and then left to go change. 

The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, accepted my note and gave me the necessary paperwork for the library. His pitbull daemon was full of energy. All I would have to do was stay in the library during gym time to get the credit. This was because I was physically female, and while the school was fine with me using male bathrooms, they weren’t sure about the locker room. For my safety and comfort and that of others. Thank god. 

At home, only two years of PE. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Everyone knew I was trans back home, they witnessed me transition. So I had no reason to hide much when I changed in the locker room, and no one had any problem either. But here, I was stealth. 

Austin and Bella, who was also in this class, waved at me as I headed to the library. I spent the period perusing the books. The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself. When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.

Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free

He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time — any other time. His mountain lion was pacing slightly behind him.

I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me.

The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me — his face was absurdly handsome — with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist. Thankfully, I avoided eye contact successfully this time.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door. Shockingly, his daemon pulled her lips back from her teeth, and directed a low growl towards us. 

I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip.

"How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.

"Fine," I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced.

When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly as I waited for Bella. I gently cradled Nesryn in my hands. Only moments later did she arrive, and we headed back home.

We headed back to Dad’s house, me fighting tears the whole way there.   



End file.
